Facebook Marketing Tips: How to Get Engagement on Facebook Without Ever Paying for Ads

Oct 9, 2014 3 min readBufferchat

Director of People @ Buffer

Erik Fisher, an author, podcaster and community manager at Social Media Examiner, stopped by #bufferchat to discuss Facebook marketing tips and engagement!

Check out the full Storify recap here!

What role does Facebook play in your community strategy?

From Erik:

Most likely your largest group of followers on one social network: Facebook. You can’t ignore it even if you’re frustrated.”

Don’t JUST post great content on Facebook, engage with those who like, share and comment on it.”

Be less concerned with reach on Facebook, and be available to those you DO reach.”

True, Facebook isn’t always the ideal channel. Know your audience and which network they are active on.”

Other great insights:

FB runs the show for deep, probing content and long relationships. Twitter feeds the news stream.” @jayvig“Depends on who is your community. Sometimes it is for promotion, sometimes it is for ideation, sometimes for research.” @nimu9

The thing I like most about Facebook for branding, etc is that it’s a bit deeper than other SM. Conversations tend to be deep.” @shartwell92

What experiences have you had engaging your audience on Facebook?

From Erik:

It can be hard to know to go to a post days or weeks old and respond to a comment, but there are tools that help with that.”

It’s also cool to click ‘like’ on the shares of our posts on Facebook to say thanks for sharing. Take time to do that.”

Brands should try to act more human, since they are made of people, on Facebook, right?”

“Let’s not forget the power of Facebook groups. People opting in to a tight niche community.”

Other great insights:

When targeting is right, engagement is up! Custom Audiences work wonders to buld real community on FB” @lisabuyer

From a brand perspective, doing lots of listening, then asking the right questions, has made all the difference for me.” @jarematkinson

Behind the scenes images & stories provide high engagement on client FB pages. People want to see who’s behind the curtain.” @LifeofRileyNYC

What are the biggest lessons you learned in Facebook marketing?

From Erik:

No matter the social network, know what your audience wants.”

It’s ok to use tech. But be human too. Be a cyborg. :)”“A weekly review should be the minimum that you look at what you’ve done and how you can do it better.”

Go back to your best performing posts and repost them at a time where you will have less competition – overnight.”

Other great insights:

Be patient, quality communities don’t pop up over night” @scottas

People are more inclined to passively pay attention to content than actually interact w/ it on FB. You have to be creative.” @shannnonb

Every week, if certain posts are working I do more of those.” @lizloizousmith

Is it necessary to pay for engagement on Facebook?

From Erik:

“Paying on Facebook isn’t necessary. If you are crafting the right posts, responding, testing times, you can get views.”

Other great insights:

Yes, that is why #facebook should be a part of an integrated social strategy. Would you run just a PPC campaign w/out SEO?” @_MariaJuan

While it is not necessary to pay to get views on Fbk, it can be helpful to Test some paid ads or promoted posts.” @CathyWebSavvyPR

How do you measure success with your Facebook page?

From Erik:

“It may not seem obvious, but success = achieving your goals. ? It’s different for everyone.”“Make sure whatever you do, you know your end goal and can measure how close you get.”

Are people clicking your links if you have them? Is it driving traffic? If that’s your goal.”

Other great insights:

Good conversations. Engaging with others is so much better than a thumbs up.” @LearnwithJill

Again, answer depends. Is FB being used to drive traffic? Generate awareness? Provide cust service? Measure accordingly.” @bldchris

Measuring with a combination of FB insights, Google Analytics, and engagement allows for a better perspective.” @NikkiFica

Final Facebook marketing tips:

From Erik:

“Try posting at times where you will have less competition. Like 11:30 or so at night.”

Other great insights:

Don’t be afraid to spend money. Get creative with ads. And remember that a little goes a long way for promoted posts!” @friendemic“Always have an integrated marketing plan to incorporate other #SocMed websites.” @kimbeasley

Use the cover wisely, short links, short post, optimised landing pages, eye catching images & VALUABLE Content!” @liliholl

Thank you to Erik for sharing such great expertise with #Bufferchat!

Catch #Bufferchat each week at 9 am Pacific/noon Eastern/4 pm GMT with different guests and topics. Join the Google+ community to keep up on the latest news.

Image sources: Blurgrounds, Icon Finder, Startup Stock Photos

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Facebook Marketing Tips: How to Get Engagement on Facebook Without Ever Paying for Ads

What role does Facebook play in your community strategy?

What experiences have you had engaging your audience on Facebook?

What are the biggest lessons you learned in Facebook marketing?

Is it necessary to pay for engagement on Facebook?

How do you measure success with your Facebook page?

Final Facebook marketing tips:

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140,000+ people like you use Buffer to build their brand on social media every month